Pygmy Sperm Whales Die on Beach

Published 7:00 pm, Thursday, January 31, 2002

Three pygmy sperm whales died after beaching themselves on a coastal island, increasing concerns by marine researchers who have seen a high number of such strandings along Florida's southern Atlantic Coast.

Two adult whales were found dead and a 250-pound calf with pneumonia-like symptoms was euthanized after the mammals stranded themselves Thursday on Hutchinson Island.

Six strandings per year had been typical from Fort Pierce to Sebastian, in southeast Florida, but last year, 30 animals stranded themselves, said Stephen McCulloch, chief of dolphin research at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution in Fort Pierce.

Researchers have responded to three multiple-whale strandings this week, said Harbor Branch spokesman Geoff Oldfather.

Scientists hope to find clues in a necropsy performed on the 7-foot male calf.